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Telling Lies in America
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Wikipedia article
'Telling Lies in America' is a 1997 coming-of-age drama film directed by Guy Ferland and written by Joe Eszterhas.
Plot
Karchy Jonas is a 17-year-old high-school student (who emigrated from Hungary 7 years earlier) trying to find his way in the world. He meets radio personality Billy Magic who takes him under his wing. However, authorities are after Billy for accepting payola from record companies to give their songs air time. Billy picks Karchy, as when he figures out Karchy cheated to win his radio contest, he realizes he would be perfect to associate with Magic's scam. Karchy does so, not realizing that this may jeopardize him and his father's U.S. citizenship. He pursues a co-worker at a local grocery store where he works, only to find out she was engaged all along. Karchy idolizes Billy only to find out how corrupted, bitter and cynical he truly is.
Cast
* Kevin Bacon as Billy Magic
* Brad Renfro as Karchy 'Chucky'/'Slick' Jonas
* Maximilian Schell as Dr. Istvan Jonas
* Calista Flockhart as Diney Majeski
* Paul Dooley as Father Norton
* Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Kevin Boyle
* Luke Wilson as Henry
* Damen Fletcher as Amos 'Blood Smith'
* Jerry Swindall as Andy 'Croak' Stas
* K.K. Dodds as Justine
* James Kisicki as Cecil Simms
* J.J. Horna as The Blind Kid
* Ben Saypol as Timmy Morelli
* Tony Devon as Danny Hogan
* Rohn Thomas as Sgt. Disapri
* Tuesday Knight as WHK Receptionist
Production
Eszterhas wrote the film in 1983 under the title 'Magic Man' but could not sell it. Later on his second wife read the script and suggested he revisit it. "It was so moving, so good, I couldn't believe it hadn't been made," she said. "I thought it was too good to be sitting on a shelf. I thought the relationship between Karchy and his father wasn't entirely worked out."
Eszterhas rewrote the script and sold it to Banner Entertainment. The writer gave up his $100,000 fee so Max Schell could play a role.
According to the website Splitsider, actor John Candy was considered for the role of Billy Magic.
The film was shot in 24 days during August 1996 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Reception
'Telling Lies in America' received mixed to positive reviews from critics. It holds a 61% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 5.93/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Box office
The film was released in limited release opened at #22 at the box office and grossed $11,470. The film would end with a domestic gross of $318,809.Accolades
The film won Special Recognition award at the National Board of Review in 1997.Home media
The film was released in DVD on April 25, 2000. The film was released as part of a Blu-ray Disc double feature with 'Traveller' from Shout! Factory on May 25, 2012.
References
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